I have been really good lately with my healthy-eating since kicking off the new year with some goals around losing weight (gotta slim down for my Maid of Honor duties when my sister gets married this fall!). But gosh, sometimes you just need a good bowl of pasta and have to break the healthy streak. Last week was one of those times, I was desperately craving some al dente noodles and decided to make a quick dish for lunch while my mom was visiting. This pasta recipe hit the spot — the sauce comes together with butter and garlic, white wine and reserved pasta water. The warm pasta gets tossed into the pan with parmesan cheese, lemon zest and parsley for tons of flavor. Bright green steamed asparagus and broccolini give the dish color and texture, and the veggies make me feel a tiny bit better about inhaling all of that pappardelle! Get the full recipe below and save it for when you’re ready for your own emergency pasta-fix:
- 1 Cup of Asparagus, chopped
- 1 Cup of Broccolini, stems removed
- ½ lb of Pappardelle pasta
- 2 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
- Zest of one lemon
- ¼ cup White Wine
- ¼ Cup of Parmesan Cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 Tbsp. of Fresh Parsley, chopped
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
- Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil; steam asparagus and broccoli for 2 minutes then remove and set aside.
- Bring water back to a boil and cook pasta as directed to al dente; reserve ¼ cup of pasta water.
- In a sauté pan, melt butter and cook minced garlic until softened. Add zest of one lemon and white wine to the pan, cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in reserved ¼ cup of pasta water then add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss with Parmesan cheese, steamed vegetables and season with salt and black pepper.
- Top with fresh chopped parsley and red pepper flakes (optional) before serving.
SHOP THE POST
Looks and sounds amazing. I have no clue as to what this pasta is, never heard of it. Looks yummy.
It usually comes in little nests when you find it at the grocery store, but you could easily swap out a nice fettuccine or other long noodle for the recipe — they should all work!
Trader Joe’s has a nice Lemon pepper parpadelle for this!
Yum! I need to find that!
I found the pasta at Krogers
Made this tonight. Doubled the recipe and used the juice of one lemon in addition to the zest from two. It came out amazing. I included red pepper flakes on my portion – perfection! Pappardelle is my favorite pasta and it’s nice to use it in a light sauce, perfect for Spring. Thanks for sharing!
I love to hear that! YUM!
Are you supposed to chop the asparagus before steaming it, or chop it after its cooked?
I do it before so it fits into my steamer basket, and it makes it a little easier to cut when it’s still crispy and uncooked!
Made this tonight, very yummy!! 🙂 thanks for sharing
Yay! So glad to hear you liked it!
Looks great! Do you post nutritional info? It’s fine if you don’t, easy to figure out 🙂
Sorry, I don’t calculate nutritional info, but there’s lots of services online you can use to type in the ingredients to get the info! Good luck! – Kate